Nike's rivals play catch-up in marathon shoe battles

Nike’s Air Zoom Alphafly Next% running shoe. [AP]

When Eliud Kipchoge made history by beating the two-hour mark for the marathon, the Kenyan was wearing a pair of controversial Nike running shoes that has sent rival companies scrambling to play catch-up in a business worth billions of dollars.

The likes of Adidas, Asics, Brooks, Hoka, New Balance and Saucony have recently released or are about to unveil their own carbon-fibre versions of running shoes.